Coffee and Chamalla
by surena-13
Summary: Prompt: Janeway and Roslin chatting over tea and coffee requested by marzipanilla


"Hey," Kathryn said softly as she entered Laura's makeshift quarters, unable to stop a small grin from appearing when she saw the President curled up on her couch-turned-bed, wearing a nightgown and a robe, completely engrossed in her book. Laura raised her head and smiled as she closed her book. Kathryn stepped closer and leaned down to press a soft kiss to Laura's lips.

"Hi. Is that tea?" Laura asked when she saw the mugs Kathryn was carrying. Wordlessly Kathryn passed one of the mugs to her, keeping the one that held her coffee for herself. Laura gratefully accepted her tea and took a sip, quirking an eyebrow when she didn't encounter the usual bitter taste of chamalla. Instead she tasted something else, something familiar that she couldn't quite place.

"Yes. I found some honey in my quarters and added it to your tea. Don't worry I still put the chamalla in there, but I thought it might help with the bitterness," Kathryn explained, before she sat down next to her. She hated chamalla, hated the side-effect it had. The few times she had managed to stay onboard Colonial One for the night and the ever smaller amount of times Laura had stayed on Voyager, Kathryn had been woken up when Laura had started dreaming, mumbling incoherently. Sometimes she woke up with a gasp, with a scream. It was obvious the drug wasn't doing Laura a lot of favors, but she had reserved herself to keeping her comments to herself. This was Laura's choice, Laura's fight, not hers.

Kathryn sipped her own drink, reveling in the feeling of the hot bitter liquid sliding down her throat. There really was nothing like a good cup of coffee and yet soon she would run out. Just for that fact she wanted to strangle every Cylon she could get her hands on. Her crew had been dabbling in trying to find a replacement beverage for her, but none of them had been even remotely drinkable.

"You are a gift from the Gods. Thank you," Laura said softly before raising the cup to her mouth again. Kathryn just grinned and wrapped an arm around Laura's shoulders, her grin widening when she felt Laura lean against her and sigh contently. She liked how easy it had always been between the two of them. Despite the complete and utter chaos that constantly surrounded them, when they were together and alone, it was easy, uncomplicated. It felt natural.

From the moment they had met, it had been easy as if they had known each other a lot longer and had met under different circumstances. There had been no friction, just a mutual understanding about their situation which evolved into a friendship and something more, something to stave off the loneliness that accompanied their positions.

"You look tired," Kathryn commented. Her only reply was a wry chuckle as Laura removed her glasses and placed them with her book on the nightstand before she cradled the mug with two hands, undoubtedly hoping that the heat of the ceramics would warm up her eternally cold fingers.

"Tired might be the understatement of the century," the President retorted. Kathryn was bound to agree. Laure didn't just look tired. She looked completely exhausted and for the first time they had met, she actually looked ill. Her skin was pale, the circles underneath her eyes dark and she looked thinner, her cheekbones more pronounced. The impossible, stressful job and the disease were taking its toll on her.

"Then why don't you cut down a little? You have plenty of aides and advisors walking around, let them pick up some of the work. Despite what some people believe, you are not superhuman. You are not even a healthy human. You can't continue to do this," Kathryn said, knowing that her words were wasted on the woman leaning against her. But she would keep trying. She didn't want Laura to work herself to death before the cancer would take her away.

"I can't. The government is hanging on by a thread and I can't let the fleet be run by the military. If I cut down, Adama wouldn't hesitate to take over," she replied with a sigh and wrapped and arm around Kathryn's waist. This felt good, just the two of them, snuggling on the President's couch with coffee and tea, as if the worlds hadn't ended, as if they weren't running for their lives, as if there weren't a constant threat breathing down their necks. This was just them.

"You really don't like him, do you?" Kathryn inquired, running a hand over the arm resting on her abdomen, feeling the soft skin under her fingertips. Laura always felt soft, leaving Kathryn to wonder how she did it. She had ran out of beauty products a few weeks ago, but Laura always managed to look composed and put together. Of course it helped being the President, but somehow she knew that Laura wouldn't abuse that privilege.

"I don't think I fully understand him, nor does he understand me and neither of us are trying very hard to change it." Laura explained, shifting a little so she could sip her tea, prompting Kathryn to lift her own mug to her lips again as she contemplated Laura's words. She had only seen Laura and the Commander together once and the tension could be cut with a knife. Both had strong personalities and both were unwilling to give an inch.

There was a lot of energy between the two leaders of humanity, but not necessarily in a good way. It crackled between, ready to burst, which Kathryn suspected wasn't going to take long. They had something unnamable between them, something that neither of them seemed to be aware of yet. It had taken Kathryn all of one glance to spot it, but both Adama and Laura were deliberately blind to it.

"Maybe you should. It might improve your working relationship if you actually like the man. I've heard good things about him."

"Maybe," Laura muttered and rested her head on Kathryn's shoulder. Sometimes she wondered what the fleet would say if they saw their President like this, relaxed, leaning against a Captain of one of the ships, her confidante, her lover.

"Do you want to go to bed? Get some sleep?" She felt Laura shake her head before the President set up, plucked Kathryn's mug out of her hand and placed the two mugs on the nightstand. Kathryn knew the look she had in her eys, she had seen it enough times before. It generally meant that neither of them was going to get a lot of sleep.

"Going to bed sounds good, but I don't want to sleep." Laura smirked and claimed Kathryn's lips in a slow kiss that tasted of tea, honey and faintly of chamalla. Kathryn felt Laura's tongue flick over her lips and she willingly parted them, deepening the kiss as Laura moved to straddle her thighs, placing her hands on Kathryn's shoulders. Kathryn tangled her fingers in Laura's thick hair and held her close. This wasn't why she had come here tonight, she had only come to spend some time with her, give her some time where she didn't need to be worried about anything, but she absolutely didn't mind this.

"Is that your subtle way of telling me you that you want to have your way with me, Roslin?" she teased when they broke apart. Laura only quirked an eyebrow as she fiddled with the zipper of Kathryn's uniform jacket, slowly pulling it down.

"And what if it is, Captain?" Kathryn dragged her gaze over the woman sitting on her lap, the while hair, the open robe, the rather revealing nightgown. Her eyes were bright and she looked as close to happy as possible, her cheeks were even a little flushed for the first time in weeks. She was stunning and just for tonight she was hers. She sat up and gave Laura a quick kiss, lightly running her fingers over her collarbones, feeling Laura shiver in response.

"Nothing. Sounds like a good idea."


End file.
